Official details work of AMVETS

BOARDMAN — One of the biggest ambitions of John P. Brown III is to make sure it will be easier for returning veterans and their families to receive a college education.

That is the driving force behind an agreement between the national American Veterans Inc. organization and Kaplan University, an online entity, said Brown, AMVETS’ national commander for 2007 and this year.

Brown, also known as J.P., was the guest of honor at a testimonial dinner tonight at the Holiday Inn, 7410 South Ave. Hosts of the program were the Department of Ohio AMVETS organization and AMVETS Post No. 44 of Youngstown.

Brown noted the agreement should mean that around $3.9 million worth of scholarships will be distributed over the next three years for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as their families.

“We’re [also] taking care of families,” said Brown, of Boardman. “Some veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have problems” financially and making the transition to college life.

Brown, who took over the post Sept. 1, 2007, said one of his long-term goals is to have enough scholarships established from which to build larger ones.

As national commander, Brown has duties that include overseeing operations of the organization that represents roughly 220,000 veterans nationally, as well as a team of more than 80 service officers throughout the country who help veterans with injuries and other difficulties file claims with the Veterans Administration.

The team assists service personnel in navigating through bureaucracy so they can more easily collect benefits, Brown noted.

Brown added that he supports policies put forth by James Peake, the recently appointed secretary of Veterans Affairs. Peake, Brown said, is trying to get a large backlog of claims “adjudicated in a timely manner so veterans can live the lifestyle they should.”

For the complete story, see Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.